Headlines from the DC Metro Area:

The Appraisal Institute, the country's largest and most influential association in its field, published the long-awaited addendum Sept. 29. It's designed to be attached to any standard appraisal report covering a property with significant green features.

The home at 2200 Shiver Drive in Randall Estates, designed and built in 1966 by Jerome Lindsey, an architect from Howard University, includes elements of Bauhaus and Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural styles.

This week's edition of Best New Listings looks at a Mount Pleasant two-bedroom with no set condo fees, a 3,500 square-foot four-bedroom townhouse in Logan Circle, and a three-bedroom penthouse just south of Dupont Circle.

National real estate news stories:

At issue is how to interpret the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, a 1974 law that sought to address abuses in the mortgage industry by prohibiting kickbacks or referral fees in connection with the settlement process.

A title search is part of the risk assessment the title insurance company does before issuing the policy. The title company does not want to have to pay out that policy; therefore, it has a vested interest to find any and all complications to the ownership title.

Casual real estate observers figure the South Florida housing market is flush with homes for sale and that anxious sellers are begging for any offers. But that's not the case these days as the region's housing climate steadily improves.